Things I have learned on my quest for a healthier life:
1) Chewing a piece of sugar -free fruity gum helps cure my craving for a sweet treat. I recently discovered a pina colada flavored Trident White. Delish. When will they have a chocolate sugar-free gum? Now that's something I could really, really use.
2) Everyone in the house of Cali Girl has been sick at least twice since the first of the year. I, on the other hand, have not. I am convinced it has to do with the amount of water I consume. I flush (literally)away all those bad germs.
3) Once 8-10 glasses of water a day become a habit for you, you find yourself sprinting to the bathroom less often.
4) Fiber One is my new favorite brand. They have some many new and great products out there. I love their english muffins, their bread and their frosted shredded wheat cereal. Their granola bars have peanut products in them, so sadly I have to stay away from them. I’m pretty certain they don’t read my blog, but I will post my request anyway: I would love for them to add refrigerator biscuits and/or crescent rolls to their line of products. The dough boy needs a "healthy" dose of competition to lighten his roly-poly self.
5) Said Fiber One products should not be consumed the night before a weight check. One serving on the frosted shredded wheat cereal packs 8 grams of fiber, which is 1/3 of your entire daily needs. I find that it leaves me feeling rather bulky in the morning and not at all prepared to face the scale.
6) Not all hummus is created equal. My brand and flavor of choice is Cedar's original, which has just 30 calories per 2 tablespoons. My local grocery was out of the original, so I opted for the Heavenly Spiced variety. After a week of spreading 2 tablespoons on my pita, I noticed that my weight loss had slowed down. I read the dietary info and notice that this little concoction packs 90 calories per 2 tablespoons, which is really okay when you plan for it. I wasn't planning for it.
7) If it passes by your lips, write it down. The only way for me to be successful is to write down everything I eat. It holds me accountable and is a great visual reminder of what I can and can not eat at the end of the day.
8) After 7 weeks of drinking only 4 ounces of wine a couple of times a week, I can not drink 16 ounces without expecting to be looped. Calm down...16 ounces is only 4 glasses. Sometimes I need more than a 1/2 cup of wine.
9) Salad with salt sprinkled on it and dressing on the side, for dipping your fork into, is not as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, I prefer it to the light dressings on the market that aren't so great.
10) 1/4 cup of golden raisins has the same amount of calories as 3 small peppermint pattys. I am all for healthy these days, by 3 bits of minty and dark chocolaty deliciousness might be worth trading in the golden raisins on occasion.
11) 1 reduced fat Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookie is worth 1 weight watchers point and sharing it with my 11 month old makes it worth it.
12) Applebee’s weight watchers meals…at least the one I had….aren’t that great. I would have been more satisfied at another restaurant with a plain salad and a grilled chicken breast. I would have spent less points and could have enjoyed it with a nice glass of wine.
13) Wii Fit can be your friend and foe. I love the fun of trying to beat my score each and every time I turn it on. I don’t love knowing that my wii fit age is 54, a whopping 19 years older than my real age, and I don’t love seeing my cute little mii turned into a pudge pot.
14) The WW oatmeal raisin cookies, for just 1 point are really good! Unfortunately, I don't think they intend for you to eat all 9 cookies in the box one day.
15) Sliced strawberries with light vanilla yogurt on top are a delish way to have dessert and satisfy a sweet tooth craving once the kids are in bed.
16) I'm an evening snacker. I do my best to save a few ww points for the end of the day when I know my temptation will be greatest.
I am quite sure I could keep this list going and add to it every day. For now, these are the lessons I have learned and am happy to know them. If you have any lessons or tips to share…don’t be shy….leave me a comment!
Lobsters, Laptops and Closets Oh My
Posted by Fratzels Labels: healthy living, Holiday, Marriage, PoliticsIn my little teeny tiny mind I think President Obama should give each tax paying adult a check for $30,000 and watch it stimulate the economy better than any stimulus package he can think of. Seriously - $60K in the house of Cali Girl would go a long way and would stimulate the economy with us finishing our basement and taking a vacation – pretty sure other households would do similar things with all that money. What would you do with $30K per adult in your house?
I’m a realist; I know that won’t happen. …So here at the house of Cali Girl we are doing out best to stimulate the economy without a fun little check from the government.
My Valentine’s Day gift to the hubs was a lobster dinner. We don’t believe in going out to dinner for lobster, so we buy it at the local grocery store and steam it ourselves and light a gazillion candles to get rid of the boiling seafood rank smell. It’s as easy as can be and delish. We both had an abundant and decadent amount of lobster – two 2 pound lobster each. Yikes, but hey we wanted to stimulate the economy! The hubs ate his dripping in butter and I ate mine with lemon only, which was a new experience for me…but my abundant tush needs to squeeze into a bathing suit on May 1st and that was only 8 points of lobster! Aside from my 11 month old bundle of joy crying and whining while we were trying to finish our dinner together, it was a lovely meal.
My Valentine (aka the hubs) bought me a laptop. It started out as a mini laptop (have you seen these cute little things?), then went to a regular size for $50 more, then ended with a Dell laptop because they were having a sale. You see…we really do want to do our part in stimulating the economy, so we upgraded. The hubs was very sweet and upgraded even further to get me a pink laptop. Thank you, my dear Valentine! I will look at its oh so girly color and smile and giggle when I see my big burly hubs using it.
Valentine’s Day weekend also greeted us with a new closet system from Easy Closets.com. When planned for a walk-in closet in our master bedroom when we built our house, but never finished it. We have his and hers reach in closets, so the walk-in was never a priority. It became a priority and now we have a beautiful closet system. When it’s finished, I’ll post some photos. Of course you know this means that I will have to further stimulate the economy and buy some lovely clothes to fill it up!
We had a super bowl party, so I had to make a sweet treat to go along with all the other goodies. My diet and my love of baking do not get along. As a matter of fact, my love of baking is probably what got me in trouble in the first place. I've never met a brownie batter that I didn't absolutely love.
My solution this time...I made banana flavored cupcakes. I loathe bananas (every little thing about them sends me reeling - yech). Perfect solution. I can still enjoy baking and not be tempted by the batter or the cupcake (in this case) itself.
To make banana cupcakes: I used a box of yellow cake mix added the amount of oil and water called for on the box, then add the pudding powder from one box of instant banana pudding. (no eggs). The hubs, a devote banana lover says there was just a hint of banana and that they were delish.
Adding the pudding powder to any cake mix will make your cake super moist.
Chili Chicken with Yogurt Sauce
Chicken Marinade
2 Pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs cut into 2 inch pieces
1/2 cup OJ
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon canola oil
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 garlic clove minced
Salt and Pepper (my own addition)
Yogurt Sauce
1 8 ounce container of plain low-fat yogurt
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
2 tablespoons minced red onion
2 teaspoons chopped cilantro
2 teaspoons lime zest
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
Combine marinade and chicken in a ziploc bag. Let sit at least 4 hours or overnight.
Make yogurt sauce and store in the airtight container in the fridge until ready to use.
To cook. Spray broiler rack and pre-heat broiler. Thread chicken and tomatoes onto 6 18 inch metal skewers. Broil 5 inches from from heat until chicken is browned and cooked through. About 6 minutes on each side.
Serves 6 people at 7 points each (if you follow points).
****I swapped the chicken thighs for breasts. I cooked the chicken on the stove top with a little cooking spray. I will roasted (cooking spray, salt and pepper at 375 degrees) the roasting veggies (red peppers, onions and yellow summer squash). I will weigh the chicken and count the weight as my points (but I will add a point because of the oil and sugars in the marinade). I will serve the chicken, veggies and sauce with rice.
The problem? What size do I order? Clearly, based on the price it is from last season. Right now they have all the possible sizes I could need, but at a price like that and with spring rapidly approaching, I fear others will find this deal irresistible, thereby leaving me without what I desperately want. Do I order what I want to wear? Do I order what I am wearing now? OYE!!! It's just too hard to decide. A friend, who is very practical and financially savy (who also needs a blog alias name), has advised me to buy 2 sizes, wait 25 days, try both on, send the one back that is too big within the 30 day return policy. Do I do that now or wait until mid-March to do that? The fact of the matter is that I have lost 10 pounds since the first of the year and I am working my arse off to lose another 20 by May 1. Can I count on what fits me mid March to fit me a month and a half later?
The next problem...my arms. The flab on my arms that keeps waving when I stop. The flab that never sees the light of day because it is horrendous. The flab that no matter how much weight I lose never seems to go away. Aside from cutting it off, how can I get rid of it??? Does anyone have the answer? If you do, I beg you to delurk yourself this one time and tell me....please!
After my trip to Cali over Christmas, I decided that the hubs and I needed to start living healthier for our kids; they are pre-disposed to thinness. We need to make some healthy changes in our house, so that making healthy food choices and exercising becomes second nature.
In my quest for a healthier lifestyle, I am weighing the option of arising at the very early hour of 4:30am to exercise. Am I crazy? Somebody put this horribly insane thought out of my head. In all seriousness, though, I can't seem to think of another time to do it. I normally get up for the day at 5:15, I wake my kids between 6:00 and 6:15, then we are out the door at 6:45. I get home at 5:15pm, we eat dinner, do laundry, do the dishes, take baths and get the kids in bed at 7:00 for Ladybug and 7:30 for Little Man. Sometime between 7:30 and 8:00 I start my work from home (which I do 2 hours 4 nights a week to allow me to stay home from work 1 day per week to be with my kids - typically a Friday). I go to bed between 10 and 10:30. Where in that day, aside from Sweatin' to the Oldies on Fridays, can I fit in exercise? I can't. I can only fit it in my getting up at an hour that should not be known to me.
We have Wii fit. I had my age calculated at 54! That's 19 years older than my actual age people - not good. I am, however, chalking up to my severe lack of coordination and balance.
Oh my word! I finally know what you peanut butter fanatics have been talking about. See, I am allergic to peanut butter, so I never ever understood why all of you fans would go so nutty over it. I just didn't get it.
A couple of months ago we had Little Man tested for food allergies. We knew he had them, but we wanted to see what he had other than eggs and what nuts he was allergic to (secretly I was hoping the egg allergy was gone). He's allergic to all nuts, to eggs, to dust mites (yes, dust mites - that's another post all together), and mildly to soy (he can have if it is used in moderation.
I asked the doctor about seeds. I have been operating under the assumption that he is allergic to all seeds as well. He's not. In fact, she said most seeds have a very low rate of allergens. You run into problems when they are processed in tree nut facilities. She suggested we try sun butter as a substitute for peanut butter. It is made from sun flower seeds.
It didn't take me long to find some in one of the upscale local markets. They carry it in the health food sections for $5 a jar. YIKES! Anyway, I had the hubs try it first. I'm not going to lie, I was afraid to taste it. I have a serious mental block against PB. He tried it and said it was a good substitute (much better than the soy nut butter I brought home once).
So...I gave it a taste. OH HOLY SUNFLOWER SEEDS! It was incredible. I started eating it on toast and then on crackers. Then I realized it would taste delish with chocolate. I can finally relate to you PB lovers.
On Jan 1 I started my diet again (remember weight loss wednesday???). Anyway, I had some spare points for the day, so I went looking for that jar of sun butter. When I found it and figured the points, I nearly passed out! My love affair with this new food must come to an end!
I love Fiber One. They have so many great products. There newest, at least new to me, is cottage cheese. It's delish and full of fiber. In effort to live a more healthy life in the house of Cali Girl, I bought fiber one bread.
I made a grilled cheese sandwhich for little man with that bread today. He got up from his nap and said my tummy hurts. I was standing in the kitchen when I heard him go into the bathroom. He was still in there 5 minutes later. I asked him if we was okay. Word to the wise....It would seem that 14 grams of fiber at lunch for a 3 year old has a laxative effect.
